Disclaimer: Me and Author #1 haven't been putting up disclaimers, because
Author #1 thinks people should know better, but I Author #2, am a strong
follower of the rules, and thus am doing the disclaimer for this and all of
other fics. We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! And in the case of this fic, I don't own
the original story of The Canterville Ghost either.
Canterville
When a gentile man can win,
Prayer from out the lips of sin
When a child gives up tears,
And the barren almond bares
When the silent chapel bell
Sounds the ghostly sinner's knell
Then shall all the house be still,
And peace shall come to Canterville
A train was steadily making its way across the English countryside, and as it zoomed past various sites of historic importance, one man who sat by him self was not paying any attention. Instead, he was busily typing away at a laptop. This was a normal enough chore for him, but what he was writing was not as familiar as he let on. Seto was having trouble coming up with things to say to his little brother in his email. He was not accustomed to writing letters to any one about any thing accept businesses. Normally, Mokuba would accompany him on these business trips, but this time, Mokuba had been unable to leave school for summer break a few days early, as his older brother had done. As Seto carefully wrote the last sentence of his email, he scrolled back up to the top of the page to admire his letter.
Dear Mokuba,
I guess that by the time this letter reaches you, you'll be out of school. And here I am in un-jolly old England on my way to some place I've never heard of. I still don't understand why I have to come all the way to the middle of no where; maybe I can find some excuse to leave early. I hope to here from you soo-
Suddenly the screen of his laptop went black, and a message popped up. 'Unstable connection' and was followed by another message, 'Warning, battery low.' A small spark came from his laptop, and it shut down.
"Canterville next station, Next stop, Canterville!" a man called out cheerfully as he made his way down the aisle. Seto stood up and intercepted him, demanding to know why his laptop had suddenly stopped working.
"You mean you don't know? Electronics just don't work here in Canterville." The man said smiling at Seto. "Enjoy your stay!" Seto sat back down, allowing the man to continue spreading his message.
The train slowed to a halt, and Seto waited for every one else to get off the train before he made his way to the door. He was greeted by and old man who walked up to him briskly.
"Are you Mister Seto Kaiba?" the man asked, looking over Seto carefully.
"I am. Who wants to know?" Seto replied coldly.
"I am Mr. Umny. My wife and I will be the ones who will look after you during your stay in Canterville. I am also you driver." The man stated stiffly.
"I see. I am in a great hurry Mr. Umny, and I must ask you to take me to where I'm staying at once."
"Yes, of course sir." Mr. Umny reached for Seto's briefcase, but his hand clasped around empty air. Seto had quickly moved his brief case out of the reach of Mr. Umbrae.
"I'll take this. You just take me to the car."
"Yes, of course sir." Mr. Umny said trying to hide his failure with an awkward little bow, before hurrying out to the parking lot where an expensive old-fashioned car was waiting for them.
'Not a limo, but it will do for now, just as long as the old thing can still run.' Seto thought to himself as he climbed into the back seat and set his briefcase beside him. As they set off towards Seto's accommodations, the people they passed would stop what they were doing and stare at them before hurrying into their houses. Seto heard one of these people whisper to their companion, "He must be the new one..." before the two scuttled inside. The village was small, and it was easy for Seto to tell that everyone here was very uneasy about his arrival. He glanced at Mr. Umny who continued to stare fixedly at the road.
Eventually, the town gave way to countryside, and for once Seto was happy to see the small town be replaced by large trees sitting atop rolling hills. 'Anything is better then all those people staring at me with suspicion hidden behind their fake similes.' He thought angrily to himself. The car slowed noticeably, and Seto looked out through the windshield for the first time since they had left the town. His eyes were met with the fantastic sight of a large castle that seamed to spring up from the ground before his very eyes.
"Welcome to Canterville Hall, your home for the next couple of months, Mr. Kaiba." Mr. Umny said as he parked the car in front of the large double doors that lead into the castle. After removing the keys and placing them carefully in his breast pocket, Mr. Umny slowly went around to the back of the car and held open a door for Seto, who stepped out and looked around. "Is it to your liking, Mr. Kaiba?" Mr. Umny continued after Seto had stepped out and grabbed his briefcase.
"It's old." Seto said simply.
"I hoped you would approve, but- Ah! May I present Mrs. Umny!"
"I bid you welcome to Canterville Hall, Mr. Kaiba!"
"I'll see to the luggage..." Mr. Umny said almost to himself. Ignoring the elderly couple that stood before him, Seto strode up to the old doors and pushed them open, revealing a small hall that led into a grand dinning room. Mrs. Umny came up next to him and grabbed him by the arm.
"After you've had a chance to get settled, we'll be serving an early supper." Mrs. Umny said sweetly dragging him through the dining room and into another larger hall. "Ah, you see these portraits, these are the lords of Canterville hall." Mrs. Umny said as if it were actually something that was intrusting. She released Seto, and continued her brisk pace down the hall. "That's Lord Yugi, you'll meet him when he comes to sign the lease tomorrow." She said gesturing to a portrait that appeared to be the newest.
Seto was, however, not paying attention. He had stopped in front of an ancient looking picture of a man wearing Elizabethan clothes, and holding a rapier in a rather dashing manner. As he continued to look at the picture, a low moaning echoed through the house. Seto tore his eyes away from the portrait to ponder the strange noise. 'Must just be the wind, this place is old, after all.' Seto thought to himself.
"Oh, don't mind that." Mrs. Umny said quickly, sensing his alarm. Seto ignored her and returned his gaze to the picture.
After dinner, Seto was forced to climb the long spiraling staircases up to his room to get a coat. 'It's probably warmer outside then in here...' he thought to himself as he made the long journey down again. On his way down, he stopped again to look at the portrait of the man he had spent so long looking at already. He just couldn't help but feel like he some how had known this person before he had come to this house; in fact it felt like Seto had known him for a very, very long time. As he turned to leave, one of the many suits of armor that stood in the halls dropped an ax that just barley missed Seto. He dismissed the incident as an accident and made his way into the dinning room where Mr. and Mrs. Umny were cleaning up. They did not realize that he had come in.
"I don't believe that boy! Just because he has lots of money and owns some company in Japan, doesn't mean he has the right to just come here and strut around like he owns the place!" Mrs. Umny was saying to her husband as she cleared off the food that Seto had left. Thinking it best to not interrupt their discussion, Seto doubled back to a place where he could here what they said, but they couldn't see him.
"Not to worry. A city kid like him won't last the night." Mr. Umny replied, glancing around anxiously.
"Yes, the old boy was at it with the moaning as soon as he arrived." Mrs. Umny said to her husband.
"Starved for attention he is." Mr. Umny commented looking up at the ceiling. "How long is it since the Taylors?" he asked his wife turning back to her.
"Nearly two years. I hear the poor boy is still in the institution."
"Well, good luck to him, that's all I say." Mr. Umny toasted, raising his glass. Seto had heard enough. He turned on his heal and walked straight back up the stares.
As the large grand father clock in the living room struck midnight, Seto lay awake in his bed. He had been unable to come up with anything worth while to write to Mokuba for the past half-hour. He had given up on trying to repair his laptop, and finally resorted to pen and paper. As the last bell tolled, Seto heard another ghostly moan. 'Must just be the Umnys closing up...' he reassured himself. As he stared at the blank page labeled with a simple 'Dear Mokuba', something caught Seto's attention. Someone was rattling the doorknob of his bedroom, as if they were trying to come into a looked room. He tried to ignore it, but another moan drew his attention again from the letter he was trying to write.
He decided that it would be best to go sort out this nonsense himself. 'Is it the Umnys trying to scare me out of manor?' Seto wondered to himself. As he reached the door, another moan rang out through the room, though it felt more like laughter the way it reverberated in Seto ears. He placed his hand on the doorknob slowly and the rattling stopped. Turning it ever so carefully, Seto moved to open the door, and found himself alone it the hallway.
After looking around for the culprit and seeing no one, Seto returned to his room and shut the door behind him. With one last glance around his new room, Seto crawled under the covers and extinguished the lamp that burned on its last couple drops of oil next to his bed. He was in darkness now, and as his keen eyes surveyed the scene, he heard another moan, and could have sworn that someone was standing above him, watching him. But as he could see no one, he dismissed the idea and rolled onto his side, preparing for some much-needed sleep.
All night Seto tossed and turned fitfully in his sleep, and when he woke up, he found him self drenched with sweat, although the thermometer told him that the temperature had dropped to 40 degrees last night. He slowly climbed out of bed and headed in to the bathroom to take a shower. The water was freezing, but it felt nice to get the sweat off any way. Seto realized that the house must have been built long before heating or electricity was invented, which explains why it was always so damn cold. After getting dressed, he climbed down the stares and into the hall that led to the dinning room. As he made his way to the dinning room, his eyes were again drawn to the portrait of the man with the rapier. As he stared into those deep maroon eyes, he felt as though he were being drawn into the world of the portrait, and he could almost imagine the man standing right in front of him, waiting for some one...him.
"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba, I trust you slept well?" Mr. Umny drew him out of his reverie, and Seto turned to face him quickly. "Mrs. Umny has already put out your breakfast, are you hungry?" Seto didn't answer him. He turned to the dinning room and walked in, ignoring Mrs. Umny's greeting. Seto took his seat at the head of the table and helped himself to some oatmeal. 'I hate oatmeal.' He thought to himself before stuffing a large quantity into his mouth.
"Now that you've had your breakfast," Mrs. Umny interrupted his thoughts. 'I'm getting so sick of that...' he ignored her. "How would you like a formal tour?" she continued.
"No thanks. I have so work to do." Seto replied icily.
"No, no, I must insist," Mr. Umny said carefully, taking Seto by the arm and leading him to a part of the house that Seto had not yet explored.
"This is the library," Mrs. Umny said as Seto and her husband entered the said room. Seto released himself from Mr. Umny's weak grip and picked up a book that was resting on an end table. "That book contains the entire history of the Cantervilles." Mr. Umny said noticing what he had picked up. Seto sat down in a chair and opened the old book.
"We will continue the tour later." Seto said, dismissing the Umnys.
"Yes, of course sir." Mrs. Umny said turning to leave the room. Seto waited until both the Umnys had left before he shut the old book, and started to investigate the library.
A large marble fireplace stood at the center of on wall, and there were ornate carvings on its mantle. As he turned his glance down wards, he noticed a small red stain on the floor beside it. As he knelt down to scrutinize the strange object, he felt a searing pain run from his chest to his head and he felt extremely sick. He fell backwards into a conveniently placed armchair, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the stain. His hand reached up to the place in his chest that it hurt instinctively, but when his hand met with the black fabric of his turtleneck, he pulled it away quickly. It had felt wet. He pulled his gaze away from the stain to look at his shaking hand. It was covered with blood. A rare moment of panic ran through him and he quickly looked down at his chest. Nothing. There was no blood. He looked back at his hand and again found nothing. 'What is happening to me, I'm not going insane, am I?' Seto thought, his gaze returning to the spot where the stain was.
"I must get rid of it..." he said out loud to break the silence. Seto journeyed to the bathroom, got a towel, got it wet, put soap on it, and returned to the library. He started scrubbing. He scrubbed for an hour, but still the stain seamed to get no smaller. 'I don't know why, but I have to get rid of it...'
Meanwhile, out on the driveway
"Good morning, my Lord." Mr. Umny greeted the man that had pulled up, and opened the door for him.
"Ah, Mr. Umny!" the short man said to Mr. Umny as he stepped out of the car. "Is he still here?"
"Oh Lord Yugi, that man is driving me mad, he has no respect for the house!" Mrs. Umny complained as she rushed up to join here husband in greeting the lord of the Canterville house.
"Now Mrs. Umny, we shall have to make allowances, things being what they are..." Lord Yugi reassured the woman. "Any...trouble?" he asked glancing at the two.
"Only...noises, so far my Lord" Mr. Umny replied.
"Well, at least he's lasted the first night." Lord Yugi said grinning as he walked up to the door. He made his way briskly into the library, were Seto was rumored to be, closely followed by the Umnys. Seto had finally removed the last bit of the stain, and declared this to the room triumphantly as the group entered the room. Upon spying the empty spot were the stain had been, Mrs. Umny let out a shriek and collapsed into the very armchair that Seto had fallen into earlier. Mr. Umny and Lord Yugi immediately rushed to her aid, and Yugi turned to face Seto.
"That stain, Mr. Kaiba, was the blood of Sir Seth Edmonton, who died on that very spot in 1584." Yugi said starring at the spot that Seto stood over. "It has been the wonder of the county for four hundred years. Until today, it has resisted all efforts of removal." He continued indignantly. Mrs. Umny had begun to whimper uncontrollably, and the lord of the house turned his attentions back to her. "Mrs. Umny, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"I-I suppose so..." she answered weakly. "This bodes ill..."
"I don't believe in those things." Seto said shortly, starring at the spot where the blood had been.
"You'll see..." Mrs. Umny continued in a far off voice. "I have seen things wild eyes... I have seen things happen in this house..." she stood up and practically fell into Seto. "Providence watch over you..." Mrs. Umny said shakily, striating her self and leaving the room.
"Um, I am Lord Canterville, but please, call me Yugi. How do you do?" Yugi introduced himself trying to ignore the strange behavior of Mrs. Umny. He extended a hand, which Seto did not take.
"How did he die?" Seto asked icily.
"No one knows. He was the lover of my unfortunate ancestor, Sir Yami de Canterville, who disappeared mysteriously after his death. His body has never been recovered, but his spirit has haunted this hall ever since." Yugi answered, trying to remain friendly.
"With all do respect, 'Lord' Canterville, the laws of science are not going to be repealed even for the British aristocracy." Seto said glaring at the Lord before he turned and picked up the book that had the history of the Cantervilles in it.
"You may think any thing you like, Mr. Kaiba, but you must remember that I did warn you." Yugi said, winking at Mr. Umny who had remained in the library. He pulled a pen and paper from his coat pocket and handed them to Seto.
"Thank you, Mr. Canterville, I consider myself warned." Seto said taking the document, and ignoring the pen. He pulled out one of his own and twirled it in an extravagant way before signing the lease. "Good bye Lord Canterville." Seto said coldly, stuffing the paper into his hands.
"Good bye, Mr. Kaiba. You really must come to dinner some time. I'll see you soon, I dare say." Lord Yugi said, turning and leaving escorted by Mr. Umny. After they had left, Seto returned his attention to the book that he had picked up earlier. The first page of the book contained only a drawing of an angel clutching a heart to her breast. He looked around the room carefully. 'I know I've seen that picture before...' His eyes fell on the fireplace, where a matching angel was carved. As he examined it more closely, it appeared that something was missing from the spot where the heart was on the angel over the fireplace. He shut the book, and made to put it down when he noticed a carved heart shaped stone was set into the cover. 'Must just be a coincidence.'
"So you've found the prophecy." Mr. Umny said from behind him gesturing at the writing next to the angel.
"Is that what it is?" Seto asked in a disinterested manner, though he continued to stare at it. "A prophecy about what?"
"I couldn't say."
"Is it about the 'ghost'?" Seto sneered.
"I don't involve myself in such things, unlike Mrs. Umny..." Mr. Umny said as he left Seto alone with his thoughts.
After dinner, Seto headed strait for his room and decided that this would be the night that he finally wrote to Mokuba. So far his letter went like this:
Dear Mokuba,
I'm sorry to not have written to you sooner. My laptop doesn't seem to work here, so I had to write it manually. I hate being stuck in this stupid old house. There's no one around for miles, except for these to creepy old people, who seam to want me to leave, which I'd gladly do. Of course now that they want me to leave, I might just have to stick around, if only to prove them wrong that this house isn't haunted. That's right. Every one here seems convinced that it is, and they are trying to scare me away. Ha! Like I believe in ghosts....
The candles that lit Seto's room began to flicker in an unsettling way. And the door to his room creaked open. 'Stupid old houses...there must be a draft coming in from some where and that's what's making the candles flicker and the door-' Seto was puled from his thoughts of reassurance by a sudden weight on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and was met with the piercing gaze of the man from the portrait. A gasp of terror escaped Seto's lips and he fell from his chair. He quickly picked himself up, and fled the room, shutting the door behind him.
Minutes ticked by, and still Seto stood in front of the door, waiting. He carefully reached for the doorknob and turned it slightly, but as he did so a face emerged from the door, the face of man who had been in his room. The man walked through the door and Seto as if they had not been there. Seto fell backwards as an icy sensation swept through him. His chest began to throb again and his shirt seamed to be soaked with blood. He was in such shock that he couldn't break his fall, but someone else did. Two strong arms caught him under the arms and turned Seto to face his savior. The man stared at him for a moment, and his look resembled that of deep longing, a feeling that Seto couldn't help but feel for this man as well. Seto reached out to touch the man that stood before him, but in a flash of lightning, he was gone.
"Are you all right?!?" Mrs. Umny said as she rushed into the hall where Seto stood flabbergasted.
"I-I'm fine...I just was seeing things..." Seto said, trying to catch his breath.
"I wouldn't be so sure..." Mrs. Umny said as she reached up and touched his face that had gone white with shock.
"We should not meddle, Mrs. Umny." Mr. Umny said taking Mrs. Umny by the shoulder. The Umnys left the hall, leaving Seto alone in the darkness. 'What was that?' he though to himself as he turned and went back into his room. 'I must have been seeing things...but it felt so real...I'm just tired, that's all.' After thinking this he pulled back the covers and slid between them. However, he could not sleep, nor could he forget the look of longing that he and the man from the portrait had exchanged.
Seto awoke from he very sleepless night and decided that today he would go and explore the small town. After he made his way down the stairs, he went out through the same double doors that he had first entered the house. He stepped out on to the lawn and located Mr. Umny, who was pruning an old dead tree.
"Why do you bother?" Seto said as walking up to Mr. Umny. "It's dead."
"No. It's not dead. It's just been like that since...well since anyone can remember." Mr. Umny stuttered, turning to Seto.
"Then why don't you take it out?" Seto asked coldly. Both of them were avoiding the subject of ghosts.
"Lord Canterville's orders. The tree is not to be removed."
"Well, that's odd. I was just about to head into town."
"Yes sir, let me get the car for you." Mr. Umny said quickly, dropping his pruning shears.
"No it's alright, I'll drive my self."
"Oh, no, no-no trouble at all, sir..." Mr. Umny replied stumbling all over his words as he headed off to where the car was parked. Seto dismissed this as just another classic example of Mr. Umny's paranoia and followed him to the car.
They pulled up to the local pub, and Seto walked in. What was normally a very noisy pub went very quite as Seto walked up to the bar. Every one in the room was staring fixedly at him, but he didn't care.
"I'm Seto Kaiba. I'm renting Canterville Hall for the summer." Seto told the bartender, though it was apparent that everyone already knew this. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the post office."
"Right here, I'm the postmen." The man stated, and the room was filled with murmurs of agreement.
"Thank you." Seto said as he handed the man his now completed letter to Mokuba. "What about the police station?" "I'm the constable, if one is needed." The tender/postmen/constable smiled.
"What about a doctor?"
"I'm the local vet, if that's any good." The man continued.
"How nice, its all very simple and compact here, isn't it?" Seto glared at the bartender/everything and turned to leave. The instant the door shut behind Seto, the pub was fill with discussions like, 'How long do you think he'll last?' and 'What do you think the old boy'll do to him?' Soon a bet was started as to how long Seto would keep his sanity.
After returning to the Hall, Seto started back up to his room when he was once again stopped in his tracks by the portrait.
"Good morning, sir." Mrs. Umny said sweetly as she passed him on her way to the dining room.
"Mrs. Umny," Seto stopped her. "This is Sir Yami, am I correct?"
"Oh, why yes. A fine man."
"That look on his face, what do you think it is?" Seto asked as he continued to stair at the picture. 'Damn, I'm going mad, why do I care what the look on his face is? This place is screwing with me...'
"Seems pretty fierce..."
"Yeah. But there's something else too." 'Damn it, what am I saying!?!'
"Well, now that you mention it, yes. Maybe, a little sad perhaps."
"And lonely."
"Yes...perhaps so." Mrs. Umny said, looking at him slyly as she turned to leave. 'Damn creepy old people...' Seto though to himself as he adjusted his course to the library.
As he walked in to the old room, his eyes immediately fell on the spot where the bloodstain used to be. There, in its place was another stain.
Canterville
When a gentile man can win,
Prayer from out the lips of sin
When a child gives up tears,
And the barren almond bares
When the silent chapel bell
Sounds the ghostly sinner's knell
Then shall all the house be still,
And peace shall come to Canterville
A train was steadily making its way across the English countryside, and as it zoomed past various sites of historic importance, one man who sat by him self was not paying any attention. Instead, he was busily typing away at a laptop. This was a normal enough chore for him, but what he was writing was not as familiar as he let on. Seto was having trouble coming up with things to say to his little brother in his email. He was not accustomed to writing letters to any one about any thing accept businesses. Normally, Mokuba would accompany him on these business trips, but this time, Mokuba had been unable to leave school for summer break a few days early, as his older brother had done. As Seto carefully wrote the last sentence of his email, he scrolled back up to the top of the page to admire his letter.
Dear Mokuba,
I guess that by the time this letter reaches you, you'll be out of school. And here I am in un-jolly old England on my way to some place I've never heard of. I still don't understand why I have to come all the way to the middle of no where; maybe I can find some excuse to leave early. I hope to here from you soo-
Suddenly the screen of his laptop went black, and a message popped up. 'Unstable connection' and was followed by another message, 'Warning, battery low.' A small spark came from his laptop, and it shut down.
"Canterville next station, Next stop, Canterville!" a man called out cheerfully as he made his way down the aisle. Seto stood up and intercepted him, demanding to know why his laptop had suddenly stopped working.
"You mean you don't know? Electronics just don't work here in Canterville." The man said smiling at Seto. "Enjoy your stay!" Seto sat back down, allowing the man to continue spreading his message.
The train slowed to a halt, and Seto waited for every one else to get off the train before he made his way to the door. He was greeted by and old man who walked up to him briskly.
"Are you Mister Seto Kaiba?" the man asked, looking over Seto carefully.
"I am. Who wants to know?" Seto replied coldly.
"I am Mr. Umny. My wife and I will be the ones who will look after you during your stay in Canterville. I am also you driver." The man stated stiffly.
"I see. I am in a great hurry Mr. Umny, and I must ask you to take me to where I'm staying at once."
"Yes, of course sir." Mr. Umny reached for Seto's briefcase, but his hand clasped around empty air. Seto had quickly moved his brief case out of the reach of Mr. Umbrae.
"I'll take this. You just take me to the car."
"Yes, of course sir." Mr. Umny said trying to hide his failure with an awkward little bow, before hurrying out to the parking lot where an expensive old-fashioned car was waiting for them.
'Not a limo, but it will do for now, just as long as the old thing can still run.' Seto thought to himself as he climbed into the back seat and set his briefcase beside him. As they set off towards Seto's accommodations, the people they passed would stop what they were doing and stare at them before hurrying into their houses. Seto heard one of these people whisper to their companion, "He must be the new one..." before the two scuttled inside. The village was small, and it was easy for Seto to tell that everyone here was very uneasy about his arrival. He glanced at Mr. Umny who continued to stare fixedly at the road.
Eventually, the town gave way to countryside, and for once Seto was happy to see the small town be replaced by large trees sitting atop rolling hills. 'Anything is better then all those people staring at me with suspicion hidden behind their fake similes.' He thought angrily to himself. The car slowed noticeably, and Seto looked out through the windshield for the first time since they had left the town. His eyes were met with the fantastic sight of a large castle that seamed to spring up from the ground before his very eyes.
"Welcome to Canterville Hall, your home for the next couple of months, Mr. Kaiba." Mr. Umny said as he parked the car in front of the large double doors that lead into the castle. After removing the keys and placing them carefully in his breast pocket, Mr. Umny slowly went around to the back of the car and held open a door for Seto, who stepped out and looked around. "Is it to your liking, Mr. Kaiba?" Mr. Umny continued after Seto had stepped out and grabbed his briefcase.
"It's old." Seto said simply.
"I hoped you would approve, but- Ah! May I present Mrs. Umny!"
"I bid you welcome to Canterville Hall, Mr. Kaiba!"
"I'll see to the luggage..." Mr. Umny said almost to himself. Ignoring the elderly couple that stood before him, Seto strode up to the old doors and pushed them open, revealing a small hall that led into a grand dinning room. Mrs. Umny came up next to him and grabbed him by the arm.
"After you've had a chance to get settled, we'll be serving an early supper." Mrs. Umny said sweetly dragging him through the dining room and into another larger hall. "Ah, you see these portraits, these are the lords of Canterville hall." Mrs. Umny said as if it were actually something that was intrusting. She released Seto, and continued her brisk pace down the hall. "That's Lord Yugi, you'll meet him when he comes to sign the lease tomorrow." She said gesturing to a portrait that appeared to be the newest.
Seto was, however, not paying attention. He had stopped in front of an ancient looking picture of a man wearing Elizabethan clothes, and holding a rapier in a rather dashing manner. As he continued to look at the picture, a low moaning echoed through the house. Seto tore his eyes away from the portrait to ponder the strange noise. 'Must just be the wind, this place is old, after all.' Seto thought to himself.
"Oh, don't mind that." Mrs. Umny said quickly, sensing his alarm. Seto ignored her and returned his gaze to the picture.
After dinner, Seto was forced to climb the long spiraling staircases up to his room to get a coat. 'It's probably warmer outside then in here...' he thought to himself as he made the long journey down again. On his way down, he stopped again to look at the portrait of the man he had spent so long looking at already. He just couldn't help but feel like he some how had known this person before he had come to this house; in fact it felt like Seto had known him for a very, very long time. As he turned to leave, one of the many suits of armor that stood in the halls dropped an ax that just barley missed Seto. He dismissed the incident as an accident and made his way into the dinning room where Mr. and Mrs. Umny were cleaning up. They did not realize that he had come in.
"I don't believe that boy! Just because he has lots of money and owns some company in Japan, doesn't mean he has the right to just come here and strut around like he owns the place!" Mrs. Umny was saying to her husband as she cleared off the food that Seto had left. Thinking it best to not interrupt their discussion, Seto doubled back to a place where he could here what they said, but they couldn't see him.
"Not to worry. A city kid like him won't last the night." Mr. Umny replied, glancing around anxiously.
"Yes, the old boy was at it with the moaning as soon as he arrived." Mrs. Umny said to her husband.
"Starved for attention he is." Mr. Umny commented looking up at the ceiling. "How long is it since the Taylors?" he asked his wife turning back to her.
"Nearly two years. I hear the poor boy is still in the institution."
"Well, good luck to him, that's all I say." Mr. Umny toasted, raising his glass. Seto had heard enough. He turned on his heal and walked straight back up the stares.
As the large grand father clock in the living room struck midnight, Seto lay awake in his bed. He had been unable to come up with anything worth while to write to Mokuba for the past half-hour. He had given up on trying to repair his laptop, and finally resorted to pen and paper. As the last bell tolled, Seto heard another ghostly moan. 'Must just be the Umnys closing up...' he reassured himself. As he stared at the blank page labeled with a simple 'Dear Mokuba', something caught Seto's attention. Someone was rattling the doorknob of his bedroom, as if they were trying to come into a looked room. He tried to ignore it, but another moan drew his attention again from the letter he was trying to write.
He decided that it would be best to go sort out this nonsense himself. 'Is it the Umnys trying to scare me out of manor?' Seto wondered to himself. As he reached the door, another moan rang out through the room, though it felt more like laughter the way it reverberated in Seto ears. He placed his hand on the doorknob slowly and the rattling stopped. Turning it ever so carefully, Seto moved to open the door, and found himself alone it the hallway.
After looking around for the culprit and seeing no one, Seto returned to his room and shut the door behind him. With one last glance around his new room, Seto crawled under the covers and extinguished the lamp that burned on its last couple drops of oil next to his bed. He was in darkness now, and as his keen eyes surveyed the scene, he heard another moan, and could have sworn that someone was standing above him, watching him. But as he could see no one, he dismissed the idea and rolled onto his side, preparing for some much-needed sleep.
All night Seto tossed and turned fitfully in his sleep, and when he woke up, he found him self drenched with sweat, although the thermometer told him that the temperature had dropped to 40 degrees last night. He slowly climbed out of bed and headed in to the bathroom to take a shower. The water was freezing, but it felt nice to get the sweat off any way. Seto realized that the house must have been built long before heating or electricity was invented, which explains why it was always so damn cold. After getting dressed, he climbed down the stares and into the hall that led to the dinning room. As he made his way to the dinning room, his eyes were again drawn to the portrait of the man with the rapier. As he stared into those deep maroon eyes, he felt as though he were being drawn into the world of the portrait, and he could almost imagine the man standing right in front of him, waiting for some one...him.
"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba, I trust you slept well?" Mr. Umny drew him out of his reverie, and Seto turned to face him quickly. "Mrs. Umny has already put out your breakfast, are you hungry?" Seto didn't answer him. He turned to the dinning room and walked in, ignoring Mrs. Umny's greeting. Seto took his seat at the head of the table and helped himself to some oatmeal. 'I hate oatmeal.' He thought to himself before stuffing a large quantity into his mouth.
"Now that you've had your breakfast," Mrs. Umny interrupted his thoughts. 'I'm getting so sick of that...' he ignored her. "How would you like a formal tour?" she continued.
"No thanks. I have so work to do." Seto replied icily.
"No, no, I must insist," Mr. Umny said carefully, taking Seto by the arm and leading him to a part of the house that Seto had not yet explored.
"This is the library," Mrs. Umny said as Seto and her husband entered the said room. Seto released himself from Mr. Umny's weak grip and picked up a book that was resting on an end table. "That book contains the entire history of the Cantervilles." Mr. Umny said noticing what he had picked up. Seto sat down in a chair and opened the old book.
"We will continue the tour later." Seto said, dismissing the Umnys.
"Yes, of course sir." Mrs. Umny said turning to leave the room. Seto waited until both the Umnys had left before he shut the old book, and started to investigate the library.
A large marble fireplace stood at the center of on wall, and there were ornate carvings on its mantle. As he turned his glance down wards, he noticed a small red stain on the floor beside it. As he knelt down to scrutinize the strange object, he felt a searing pain run from his chest to his head and he felt extremely sick. He fell backwards into a conveniently placed armchair, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the stain. His hand reached up to the place in his chest that it hurt instinctively, but when his hand met with the black fabric of his turtleneck, he pulled it away quickly. It had felt wet. He pulled his gaze away from the stain to look at his shaking hand. It was covered with blood. A rare moment of panic ran through him and he quickly looked down at his chest. Nothing. There was no blood. He looked back at his hand and again found nothing. 'What is happening to me, I'm not going insane, am I?' Seto thought, his gaze returning to the spot where the stain was.
"I must get rid of it..." he said out loud to break the silence. Seto journeyed to the bathroom, got a towel, got it wet, put soap on it, and returned to the library. He started scrubbing. He scrubbed for an hour, but still the stain seamed to get no smaller. 'I don't know why, but I have to get rid of it...'
Meanwhile, out on the driveway
"Good morning, my Lord." Mr. Umny greeted the man that had pulled up, and opened the door for him.
"Ah, Mr. Umny!" the short man said to Mr. Umny as he stepped out of the car. "Is he still here?"
"Oh Lord Yugi, that man is driving me mad, he has no respect for the house!" Mrs. Umny complained as she rushed up to join here husband in greeting the lord of the Canterville house.
"Now Mrs. Umny, we shall have to make allowances, things being what they are..." Lord Yugi reassured the woman. "Any...trouble?" he asked glancing at the two.
"Only...noises, so far my Lord" Mr. Umny replied.
"Well, at least he's lasted the first night." Lord Yugi said grinning as he walked up to the door. He made his way briskly into the library, were Seto was rumored to be, closely followed by the Umnys. Seto had finally removed the last bit of the stain, and declared this to the room triumphantly as the group entered the room. Upon spying the empty spot were the stain had been, Mrs. Umny let out a shriek and collapsed into the very armchair that Seto had fallen into earlier. Mr. Umny and Lord Yugi immediately rushed to her aid, and Yugi turned to face Seto.
"That stain, Mr. Kaiba, was the blood of Sir Seth Edmonton, who died on that very spot in 1584." Yugi said starring at the spot that Seto stood over. "It has been the wonder of the county for four hundred years. Until today, it has resisted all efforts of removal." He continued indignantly. Mrs. Umny had begun to whimper uncontrollably, and the lord of the house turned his attentions back to her. "Mrs. Umny, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"I-I suppose so..." she answered weakly. "This bodes ill..."
"I don't believe in those things." Seto said shortly, starring at the spot where the blood had been.
"You'll see..." Mrs. Umny continued in a far off voice. "I have seen things wild eyes... I have seen things happen in this house..." she stood up and practically fell into Seto. "Providence watch over you..." Mrs. Umny said shakily, striating her self and leaving the room.
"Um, I am Lord Canterville, but please, call me Yugi. How do you do?" Yugi introduced himself trying to ignore the strange behavior of Mrs. Umny. He extended a hand, which Seto did not take.
"How did he die?" Seto asked icily.
"No one knows. He was the lover of my unfortunate ancestor, Sir Yami de Canterville, who disappeared mysteriously after his death. His body has never been recovered, but his spirit has haunted this hall ever since." Yugi answered, trying to remain friendly.
"With all do respect, 'Lord' Canterville, the laws of science are not going to be repealed even for the British aristocracy." Seto said glaring at the Lord before he turned and picked up the book that had the history of the Cantervilles in it.
"You may think any thing you like, Mr. Kaiba, but you must remember that I did warn you." Yugi said, winking at Mr. Umny who had remained in the library. He pulled a pen and paper from his coat pocket and handed them to Seto.
"Thank you, Mr. Canterville, I consider myself warned." Seto said taking the document, and ignoring the pen. He pulled out one of his own and twirled it in an extravagant way before signing the lease. "Good bye Lord Canterville." Seto said coldly, stuffing the paper into his hands.
"Good bye, Mr. Kaiba. You really must come to dinner some time. I'll see you soon, I dare say." Lord Yugi said, turning and leaving escorted by Mr. Umny. After they had left, Seto returned his attention to the book that he had picked up earlier. The first page of the book contained only a drawing of an angel clutching a heart to her breast. He looked around the room carefully. 'I know I've seen that picture before...' His eyes fell on the fireplace, where a matching angel was carved. As he examined it more closely, it appeared that something was missing from the spot where the heart was on the angel over the fireplace. He shut the book, and made to put it down when he noticed a carved heart shaped stone was set into the cover. 'Must just be a coincidence.'
"So you've found the prophecy." Mr. Umny said from behind him gesturing at the writing next to the angel.
"Is that what it is?" Seto asked in a disinterested manner, though he continued to stare at it. "A prophecy about what?"
"I couldn't say."
"Is it about the 'ghost'?" Seto sneered.
"I don't involve myself in such things, unlike Mrs. Umny..." Mr. Umny said as he left Seto alone with his thoughts.
After dinner, Seto headed strait for his room and decided that this would be the night that he finally wrote to Mokuba. So far his letter went like this:
Dear Mokuba,
I'm sorry to not have written to you sooner. My laptop doesn't seem to work here, so I had to write it manually. I hate being stuck in this stupid old house. There's no one around for miles, except for these to creepy old people, who seam to want me to leave, which I'd gladly do. Of course now that they want me to leave, I might just have to stick around, if only to prove them wrong that this house isn't haunted. That's right. Every one here seems convinced that it is, and they are trying to scare me away. Ha! Like I believe in ghosts....
The candles that lit Seto's room began to flicker in an unsettling way. And the door to his room creaked open. 'Stupid old houses...there must be a draft coming in from some where and that's what's making the candles flicker and the door-' Seto was puled from his thoughts of reassurance by a sudden weight on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and was met with the piercing gaze of the man from the portrait. A gasp of terror escaped Seto's lips and he fell from his chair. He quickly picked himself up, and fled the room, shutting the door behind him.
Minutes ticked by, and still Seto stood in front of the door, waiting. He carefully reached for the doorknob and turned it slightly, but as he did so a face emerged from the door, the face of man who had been in his room. The man walked through the door and Seto as if they had not been there. Seto fell backwards as an icy sensation swept through him. His chest began to throb again and his shirt seamed to be soaked with blood. He was in such shock that he couldn't break his fall, but someone else did. Two strong arms caught him under the arms and turned Seto to face his savior. The man stared at him for a moment, and his look resembled that of deep longing, a feeling that Seto couldn't help but feel for this man as well. Seto reached out to touch the man that stood before him, but in a flash of lightning, he was gone.
"Are you all right?!?" Mrs. Umny said as she rushed into the hall where Seto stood flabbergasted.
"I-I'm fine...I just was seeing things..." Seto said, trying to catch his breath.
"I wouldn't be so sure..." Mrs. Umny said as she reached up and touched his face that had gone white with shock.
"We should not meddle, Mrs. Umny." Mr. Umny said taking Mrs. Umny by the shoulder. The Umnys left the hall, leaving Seto alone in the darkness. 'What was that?' he though to himself as he turned and went back into his room. 'I must have been seeing things...but it felt so real...I'm just tired, that's all.' After thinking this he pulled back the covers and slid between them. However, he could not sleep, nor could he forget the look of longing that he and the man from the portrait had exchanged.
Seto awoke from he very sleepless night and decided that today he would go and explore the small town. After he made his way down the stairs, he went out through the same double doors that he had first entered the house. He stepped out on to the lawn and located Mr. Umny, who was pruning an old dead tree.
"Why do you bother?" Seto said as walking up to Mr. Umny. "It's dead."
"No. It's not dead. It's just been like that since...well since anyone can remember." Mr. Umny stuttered, turning to Seto.
"Then why don't you take it out?" Seto asked coldly. Both of them were avoiding the subject of ghosts.
"Lord Canterville's orders. The tree is not to be removed."
"Well, that's odd. I was just about to head into town."
"Yes sir, let me get the car for you." Mr. Umny said quickly, dropping his pruning shears.
"No it's alright, I'll drive my self."
"Oh, no, no-no trouble at all, sir..." Mr. Umny replied stumbling all over his words as he headed off to where the car was parked. Seto dismissed this as just another classic example of Mr. Umny's paranoia and followed him to the car.
They pulled up to the local pub, and Seto walked in. What was normally a very noisy pub went very quite as Seto walked up to the bar. Every one in the room was staring fixedly at him, but he didn't care.
"I'm Seto Kaiba. I'm renting Canterville Hall for the summer." Seto told the bartender, though it was apparent that everyone already knew this. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the post office."
"Right here, I'm the postmen." The man stated, and the room was filled with murmurs of agreement.
"Thank you." Seto said as he handed the man his now completed letter to Mokuba. "What about the police station?" "I'm the constable, if one is needed." The tender/postmen/constable smiled.
"What about a doctor?"
"I'm the local vet, if that's any good." The man continued.
"How nice, its all very simple and compact here, isn't it?" Seto glared at the bartender/everything and turned to leave. The instant the door shut behind Seto, the pub was fill with discussions like, 'How long do you think he'll last?' and 'What do you think the old boy'll do to him?' Soon a bet was started as to how long Seto would keep his sanity.
After returning to the Hall, Seto started back up to his room when he was once again stopped in his tracks by the portrait.
"Good morning, sir." Mrs. Umny said sweetly as she passed him on her way to the dining room.
"Mrs. Umny," Seto stopped her. "This is Sir Yami, am I correct?"
"Oh, why yes. A fine man."
"That look on his face, what do you think it is?" Seto asked as he continued to stair at the picture. 'Damn, I'm going mad, why do I care what the look on his face is? This place is screwing with me...'
"Seems pretty fierce..."
"Yeah. But there's something else too." 'Damn it, what am I saying!?!'
"Well, now that you mention it, yes. Maybe, a little sad perhaps."
"And lonely."
"Yes...perhaps so." Mrs. Umny said, looking at him slyly as she turned to leave. 'Damn creepy old people...' Seto though to himself as he adjusted his course to the library.
As he walked in to the old room, his eyes immediately fell on the spot where the bloodstain used to be. There, in its place was another stain.